Mother who ran underage prostitution ring sentenced

A mother who ran an underage prostitution business along with her son and daughter was sentenced to spend 188 months in prison.

On Tuesday, Chief Judge Todd J. Campbell in U.S. District Court in Nashville sentenced Teresa A. West, 46, for her role in recruiting several high school girls to work for her as escorts, the services of which she advertised on the Internet.

West previously pleaded guilty to child sex-trafficking and conspiracy to obstruct enforcement charges. As part of her sentencing, West also received 10 years of supervised release.

According to a 2009 criminal complaint filed against West, her daughter Diana M. West and her son Casey G. West, the mother arranged for the underage girls to meet johns in motel rooms for sex and then later had them deposit earnings onto a re-loadable debit card.

One of the girls, a 16-year-old, had previously dated Casey West, according to prosecutors, but was then convinced to go to work for his mother’s illicit business.

The investigation into West’s operation began with Metro police in Nashville, where West once lived. The FBI eventually got involved, and police caught up to the operation at a Murfreesboro Motel 6 in 2009.

There, police watched Teresa West leave a room key outside of a motel room before a 16-year-old girl showed up and used the key to enter. When police interviewed the girl, she told them she had sex for money at the direction of West.

A federal grand jury indicted West in October 2009 on child sex-trafficking and obstruction of enforcement charges. West’s son was indicted on an additional charge of making false statements to a federal agent, while her daughter was indicted on child sex trafficking charge.

Campbell previously sentenced Kenneth L. Dagley, who was indicted in the case on an obstruction charge, to 37 months in prison and five years of supervised release.

Quinton M. Roath was also sentenced to 46 months in prison and five years of supervised release.

7 Comments on this post:

By:Dr Danny on 6/30/11 at 5:23

Mr. Nix - once I get an online fund to get the online newspaper Tennessean.com a digital camera, I will ask them if you can borrow it to add some photos to your articles. We will start off slow, with just one photo but hopefully, after several more photos taken, you will be able to impress your family, friends and employer but implementing a story with more than one photo at a time. A tall undertaking but I have great confidence in your abilities going forward.

By:budlight on 6/30/11 at 7:26

Dr. Danny, why don't you use your digital camera and go take some photos; then submit them to both Tennessean.com and CityPaper? Who knows? Maybe you'll be an award winning photographer some day or take a Pulitizer Prize photo.

Just a suggestion, but based on your letter, I have great confidence in your ability going forward! Just saying!!!!!

By:End Slavery TN on 6/30/11 at 8:19

So glad to see the City Paper covering this important local piece! Thank-you for your consistent coverage of trafficking issues. As you noted, West was indicted on child-sex trafficking.

ANY minor used for commercial sex is legally a victim of human trafficking - force, fraud and coercian do not need to be present as they do for adults. So perhaps a more accurate headline would be "Mother who ran underage trafficking ring sentenced."

Derri Smith
Director of End Slavery Tennessee
International Teams US
www.endslaverytn.org
www.bethejam.org

By:frodo on 6/30/11 at 8:23

Now let's see, where were we on this story. Personally, I don't want to see the ugly mugs of the perps in this case, and I sure don't want to see the torture this sick family put innocent minors through. 188 months is not enough time for a crime like this. Kill one person, get life. Destroy many lives and put innocent parents through hell while you are at it -- and you only get 188 months. It doesn't make sense...photos or not.

By:TheKryptonian on 6/30/11 at 8:32

Amen, frodo.

By:localboy on 7/1/11 at 8:42

Good point, Dr. Danny.

By:lambchoptn on 11/17/12 at 3:02

Well here's a update for everyone! Quinton Roath is out. He lives on Smiley Hollow Rd, in Goodlettsville Ridgetop Area. I dated a Girl he had a child with, talked to this man and he said he pimped her out before she got pregnate. He bragged about it ( mother of his child ) now this poor girl has it in her head that people are always watching her, has tried to kill herself three times since this guy left, now hes in a half way house for three more months and hes back on street. People like this dont change, if he had changed he would have said hey i ****ed up and did her and my child wrong. He didnt do that at all. He never saw his child for three yrs or her mother and now oh i want a family. I really care about this girl and i really think hes convinced her that the fbi is still looking at her. I could not get her out of my truck at a job site cause she thought i called the cops. We where in another county. Her family doesnt seem to care at all. But i guess if they ever did she never would have fallen this far. As far as Ms West, I think she should have gotten 50 years. What kind of sick people would pimp out anyone much less there under age child. And if this guy would do this who can say his child isnt next. It happenes cause of no morals. I'm getting mine and i dont care who i hurt. This girls mom kicked her out of her apartment three times in one month. No one care!